I think I am convinced; I will get the ATV2, JB it and see what happens.

At this point I have a living room set up I never use; but my comp is in another room. Will there any issues of me streaming from comp to ATV without wires, ie WiFi streaming, or do I need a computer right next to ATV?

No need for wires...depending on what you go route regarding add-ons (i.e free vs ATV2 Flash black) the process might be a bit easier with ATV2 Flash Black to set up.

The only issue, and this pretty much goes for all streaming, are HD quality movies...you may experience some buffering issues which is why I recommend a wired connection to the ATV2. You can certainly try it without and if it works then it works but if you find it it buffering constantly, try a wired connection. Oh and the add-ons go a lot faster with a wired connection.

Pay Method
1. Jailbreak with Seas0nPass
2. Buy and install ATV Flash Black
3. Once installed, you can simple go to Maintenance=>Manage and install nitoTV and XBMC (this eliminates the need to ssh). You also have other add-ons that specifically come with ATV2 such as Couch Surfer Pro which is similar to Navi-X.
4. Find add-ons (a simple google search for ATV2 XBMC add-ons will give you tons of results but some of my personal favs are Navi-X, Icefilms, Free Cable, Canada on Demand, SportsDevil, Veetle, Crackle, etc)
5. Install add-ons through FTP client such as Cyberduck or Filezilla (I use Filezilla but they are pretty similar). Again, interwebz is your friend and the process is not hard at all.
6. Enjoy your content

I am looking to get either this or a Roku2 XS, which is the better of the two?

You can get far more content on a Roku, but the Apple TV has a better interface and is the only way you can watch content bought on iTunes. Also the Roku can be had for cheaper and Apple's device has Airplay. Really depends on your priorities.

I don't know if this has been covered, but I bought the Apple TV just for its airplay, which is great. I grab any of my mac devices and just hit play, then select the tv and it will play. Iphone, ipad, mac, etc.

I have atv2 and use it everyday. I like the new mirroring feature. What is on you iphone/ipad can be mirror onto your hdtv using the appletv. Install xbmc.

I thought the mirroring was cool, but then I thought, why would you do it other than to show something to other people? The "flaw" with touchscreen is that you have to look and touch whatever. Since there's no "mouse," you have to look down from your tv to your ipad to click what you want.